Joe Biden appeals to games industry on gun control task force

US Vice President Joe Biden is set to meet with representatives from the video game industry to discuss the role of violent video games as part of a wider task force.

US Vice President Joe Biden is set to meet with video game industry leaders this week to discuss the link between violent video games and gun violence as part of a wider task force into gun control measures.

The task force, formed by President Barack Obama in response to last month's mass shooting in Newtown, Connecticut, is aimed at coming with solutions for curbing gun violence in the United States.

According to Reuters, the White House has confirmed that Biden will also meet with representatives from the National Rifle Association (NRA), victims' groups, hunting groups, and gun owners to discuss possible policy changes to reduce gun violence, including proposed legislation to ban assault rifles.

Biden will reportedly meet with representatives of both the entertainment and video game industries to specifically investigate the role of violent media--including films and video games--in mass shootings. The task force is also set to look at access to mental health and disability services, and meet with parent, teacher, and education groups.

Obama has ordered the task force to report back by the end of January, ahead of the annual State of the Union address.

An NRA spokesman confirmed to Reuters that the group's top lobbyist, James J Baker, will attend Biden's task force meeting on Thursday this week.

West Virginia Senator Jay Rockefeller also entered the discussion when heintroduced a Bill to Congress that would direct the National Academy of Sciences to investigate how violent games and other such programming affect children.

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Total waste of time. Government is out of control and has no business doing any of this. Video games have nothing to do with gun violence. If you're unable to seperate the fantasy of violence in video games from shooting people in the face in real life, you have severe mental problems. Don't blame the video games, blame the terrible, neglectful parents that let their children get so out of hand.

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N.J. Gov: violent games must be examined

Republican Chris Christie says reducing gun violence in US will take a comprehensive effort that includes parents speaking with children about violent games.

Reducing gun violence in the United States will take a comprehensive effort that includes parents discussing violent video games with their children. Speaking to CBS This Morning today, Republican New Jersey governor Chris Christie said he forbids violent games from entering his household.

"We've got to talk about violence in these video games," Christie said. "I have four kids at home; I don't allow Call of Duty or these other [violent] games in. We have to start talking about that as parents."

Talking about gun control is not enough, Christie added. He said the subject of mental illness, which carries a stigma in the US, must also be discussed in the wake of last month's deadly elementary school shooting in Newton, Conn.

"You look at what happened in Connecticut; that young man was obviously mentally ill," Christie said. "He needed to be getting treatment, and I think there's such a stigma about mental illness and mental illness treatment in our country because we don't talk about it. It's an illness just like anything else."

In addition to addressing violent games and mental illness, Christie said if gun violence in the US is to be reduced, substance abuse and its link to violence must be put under the microscope. The governor pointed out that a woman in Camden, NJ decapitated her infant child and then killed herself when she was high on crack.

"So talk about all of it," Christie said. "I think we need to do things in all four of those categories."

West Virginia Senator Jay Rockefeller also entered the discussion when he introduced a Bill to Congress that would direct the National Academy of Sciences to investigate how violent games and other such programming affect children.

Additionally, US Vice President Joe Biden will meet with representatives from the video game industry this month to discuss the role of violent games as part of a wider task force looking into the role of violent media in mass shootings. The task force is also set to look at access to mental health and disability services, and meet with parent, teacher, and education groups.

Biden will also meet with representatives from the NRA, victims' groups, hunting groups, and gun owners to discuss possible policy changes to reduce gun violence, including proposed legislation to ban assault rifles.

"We've got to talk about violence in these video games," Christie said. "I have four kids at home; I don't allow Call of Duty or these other [violent] games in. We have to start talking about that as parents."

"We've got to talk about violence in these video games," Christie said. "I have four kids at home; I don't allow Call of Duty or these other [violent] games in. We have to start talking about that as parents."

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Joe Biden: I'm going to have to take all these violent video games home just to study them and also meet with the industry leaders to see their future products before anyone else for the sake of this country.

Bet with gooch_destroyer, he wins if FFX and FFX-2 will be at $40 each for the vita. I win if it dont